Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Condoleezza Rice Received Jewels From Arab Leaders

What do we expect from these Arab leaders on Palestinian issues? Do they really care?

In this Jan. 15, 2007, file photo released by Saudi News Agency, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, right, meets with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after her arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah has presented Rice with gifts on various occasions like a ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings, bracelet and ring worth an estimated $165,000 in July 2007, and a estimated $170,000 flower petal motif necklace the Saudi monarch gave to Rice in 2005, which the State Department says was not previously disclosed. (AP Photo/Saudi News Agency, File)

WASHINGTON—President George W. Bush's foreign policies may be unpopular in the Middle East, but Arab leaders showered his top diplomat with jewelry worth far more than a quarter of a million dollars last year. While Bush himself didn't fare nearly as well, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raked in at least $316,000 in gem-encrusted baubles from the kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia alone, making her one of top recipients among U.S. officials of gifts from foreign heads of state and government and their aides in 2007.In January, Jordan's King Abdullah II gave Rice an emerald and diamond necklace, ring, bracelet and earrings estimated to be worth $147,000, according to the State Department's annual inventory of such items released Monday just in time for Christmas.The king and his wife, Queen Rania, also gave Rice a less expensive necklace and earrings along with a jewelry box valued at $4,630, the document shows.Not to be outdone, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia presented Rice with a ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings, bracelet and ring worth $165,000 in July. The inventory also includes a $170,000 flower petal motif necklace the Saudi monarch gave to Rice in 2005, which the department says was not previously disclosed.

From the same Arab leaders, Bush received just over $100,000 in gifts in 2007, the list shows.